Non-Vegan Ingredients: The Label-Reading Guide

Animal ingredients rarely announce themselves. They hide behind technical names, E numbers and processing aids. This guide lists the ones you'll actually meet on US and UK food labels, what each one is, and where it tends to turn up. Every product verdict on Princess Tofu links back here.

Clearly not vegan

These always come from an animal, or so nearly always that you should treat them that way.

Grey areas

These can come from plants or animals, or they're plant-based but some vegans avoid them for other reasons. Most vegans eat them, and we don't count them against a product unless there's a specific reason to.

Sugar

Sugar itself contains nothing from an animal. Some US cane sugar refineries filter sugar through bone char, made from heated cattle bones, to whiten it. No bone ends up in the sugar, but some vegans avoid it anyway. Beet sugar, coconut sugar and USDA-certified organic sugar aren't processed with bone char. Labels almost never say which sugar was used, so we flag sugar as a grey area and leave the choice to you. Our guide to whether sugar is vegan explains which sugars are bone-char-free.

Natural flavors

US rules let "natural flavor" come from plants or animals. In candy and fruit-flavored products it's almost always plant-based. In savory snacks, soups and meat-style products it's worth asking the maker. More in is natural flavor vegan.

Mono- and diglycerides (E471)

Emulsifiers made from fats. Most are made from vegetable oils, but animal fats are sometimes used and the label doesn't have to say which.

Glycerin, stearic acid and stearates (E422, E570, E470)

Made from vegetable oils or animal fat. In food they're usually plant-based. Look for "vegetable glycerin".

Lecithin (E322)

Almost always from soy or sunflower in food. Egg lecithin exists but is mostly used in medicines.

Sodium stearoyl lactylate (E481)

A dough conditioner made from lactic acid and stearic acid. Despite the name it contains no dairy. The stearic acid is usually plant-based.

L-cysteine (E920)

A dough conditioner in some commercial bread. It can be made from feathers or hair, or by fermentation. The label doesn't say which.

Palm oil and artificial colors

Both are plant-based or synthetic. Some vegans avoid palm oil because of deforestation, and avoid colors such as Red 40 because they've been tested on animals.

E-numbers to know (UK, Ireland and EU)

How to read a label quickly

1. Check the allergen line first. "Contains: milk, egg" settles it straight away. (A "may contain" line is about shared equipment and doesn't.)
2. Read the last few ingredients. Colors, coatings and fortification sit at the end of the list, and that's where most hidden animal ingredients are.
3. Look up anything technical. Search it here. If we haven't covered it, the maker's customer line can usually tell you the source.